The King Charles III Stakes (formerly the King's Stand Stakes) is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged three years or older. It is run at Ascot over a distance of 5 furlongs (1,006 metres), and it is scheduled to take place each year in June.

History The event was created as a result of bad weather at Royal Ascot in 1860. Heavy rain made it impossible to run the Royal Stand Plate over its usual distance of 2 miles, so it was shortened to 5 furlongs on the only raceable part of the course. The amended version was called the Queen's Stand Plate, and it subsequently became the most important sprint at the Royal meeting. For a period it was open to horses aged two or older. It was renamed the King's Stand Stakes following the death of Queen Victoria and the accession of King Edward VII in 1901.

The present system of race grading was introduced in 1971, and the King's Stand Stakes was given Group 1 status in 1973. It was downgraded to Group 2 level in 1988.

The King's Stand Stakes became part of a new international race series, the Global Sprint Challenge, in 2005. It consequently featured a number of high-quality contenders from overseas, and it regained Group 1 status in 2008. It is now the fourth leg of the series, preceded by the KrisFlyer International Sprint and followed by the Golden Jubilee Stakes.

It was renamed King Charles III Stakes in 2023 to mark the King‘s 75th birthday. The race is currently held on the opening day of the Royal Ascot meeting.

Records Most successful horse (2 wins):

Woolsthorpe – 1895, 1897 Kilcock – 1898, 1899 Sundridge – 1903, 1904 Foresight – 1908, 1909 Hornet's Beauty – 1911, 1913 Diadem – 1919, 1920 Golden Boss – 1923, 1924 Gold Bridge – 1933, 1934 Elbio – 1991, 1993 Equiano – 2008, 2010 Sole Power – 2013, 2014 Blue Point – 2018, 2019

Leading jockey (7 wins): Lester Piggott – Right Boy (1957), Majority Rule (1963), Swing Easy (1971), Abergwaun (1973), Godswalk (1977), Solinus (1978), Never So Bold (1985)

Leading trainer (5 wins): Vincent O'Brien – Cassarate (1962), Abergwaun (1973), Godswalk (1977), Solinus (1978), Bluebird (1987)

Leading owner (4 wins): Jack Joel – Sundridge (1903, 1904), Nice Prospect (1927), Tag End (1929)

Winners since 1900 Year Winner Age Jockey Trainer Owner Time 1900 Eager 6 Mornington Cannon Peter Gilpin Mr L Neumann 1901 Elizabeth M 3 Lester Reiff John Huggins Mr W C Whitney 1902 Zanoni 7 Herbert Jones Eugene Leigh Mr H J King 1:15.60 1903 Sundridge 5 Mornington Cannon Charles Morton Jack Joel 1904 Sundridge 6 Mornington Cannon Charles Morton Jack Joel 1905 Delaunay 4 Otto Madden Peter Gilpin Peter Gilpin 1906 Thrush 4 Herbert Randall Edward Robson Captain J Orr-Ewing 1907 Camp Fire II 7 Danny Maher Reg Day Mr A Bailey 1908 Foresight 5 Billy Higgs Withington Lord Fitzwilliam 1:03.80 1909 Foresight 6 Billy Higgs Costello Lord Fitzwilliam 1910 Spanish Prince 3 Herbert Randall Carter Mr Nickall 1911 Hornet's Beauty 3 Skeets Martin Philip Peebles Sir W Cooke 1912 Great Surprise 4 Danny Maher William Yapp Mr H Rhodes 1913 Hornet's Beauty 5 Skeets Martin Felix Leach Sir W Cooke 1914 Adular 4 Nathan Spear Jim Butters Baron G Springer 1915-18No race 1919 Diadem 5 Steve Donoghue George Lambton Baron d'Abernon 1920 Diadem 6 Steve Donoghue George Lambton Baron d'Abernon 1921 Tetratema 4 Bernard Carslake Atty Persse Dermot McCalmont 1:01.80 1922 King Sol 8 Steve Donoghue Ossie Bell Mr J C Galstaun 1:02.80 1923 Golden Boss 3 Charlie Elliott Sam h Darling Mr A K Macomber 1924 Golden Boss 4 Frank O'Neill Sam Darling Mr A K Macomber 1:03.80 1925 Diomedes 3 Jack Leach Harvey Leader Mr S W Beer 1:02.00 1926 Highborn II 3 Garner Ossie Bell M E Esmond 1:07.40 1927 Nice Prospect 4 Bernard Carslake Charles Peck Jack Joel 1:02.60 1928 Chichester Cross 4 Charlie Smirke Howard Mr C Howard 1:02.80 1929 Tag End 5 Harry Wragg Charles Peck Jack Joel 1:03.80 1930 Oak Ridge 8 Harry Beasley Len Cundell Mr F H Cundell 1:03.80 1931 Stingo 4 Harry Wragg P Lowe Mr D M Gant 1:03.40 1932 Lemnarchus 4 Gordon Richards Fred Darling Lord Ellesmere 1:01.00 1933 Gold Bridge 4 Harry Beasley Major Vanda Beatty Mr A K Macomber 1:02.20 1934 Gold Bridge 5 Charlie Elliott Major Vanda Beatty Lord Beatty 1:04.00 1935 Shalfleet 4 Henri Jelliss Harvey Leader Harvey Leader 1:04.00 1936 Sweet Polly 4 Gordon Richards Len Cundell Mrs L W S Long 1:03.00 1937 Ticca Gari 3 A Dupuit Frank Butters Prince Aly Khan 1:01.60 1938 Foray 4 Rufus Beasley Cecil Boyd-Rochfort Mr M Field 1:01.60 1939 Mickey The Greek 5 Harry Wragg Henry Leach N Frieze 1:04.00 1940-45No race 1946 Vilmorin 3 Cliff Richards Joseph Lawson J Read 1:02.80 1947 Greek Justice 3 Gordon Richards Fred Darling J A Dewar 1:02.20 1948 Squander Bug 5 Bill Rickaby M Collins Mrs E P Moss 1:04.60 1949 Abernant 3 Gordon Richards Noel Murless Reginald Macdonald-Buchanan 1:02.00 1950 Tangle 3 Eph Smith William Payne Sr. Lady Baron 1:02.00 1951 Stephen Paul 3 Neville Sellwood Atty Persse J Olding 1:03.20 1952 Easter Bride 3 Ted Fordyce Tom Rimell W J Rimell 1:03.60 1953 Fairy Flax 4 Scobie Breasley Joseph Lawson R S Clark 1:04.80 1954 Golden Lion 3 Brian Swift Cyril Mitchell W T Barrett 1:04.40 1955 Pappa Fourway 3 Harry Carr Bill Dutton Mrs E Goldson 1:02.87 1956 Palariva 3 Roger Poincelet Alec Head Aga Khan III 1:01.80 1957 Right Boy 3 Lester Piggott Bill Dutton Geoffrey Gilbert 1:04.26 1958 Drum Beat 5 Scobie Breasley William O'Gorman J S Gerber 1:02.38 1959 Chris 3 Joe Sime Billy Nevett H F Hartley 1:00.82 1960 Sound Track 3 Scobie Breasley A S O'Brien Lady Hemphill 1:01.36 1961 Silver Tor 3 Geoff Lewis Brud Fetherstonhaugh Stanhope Joel 1:01.40 1962 Cassarate 3 Neville Sellwood Vincent O'Brien Countess Margit Batthyany 1:03.02 1963 Majority Rule 3 Lester Piggott William O'Gorman J Muldoon 1:04.26 1964Abandoned due to waterlogging 1965 Goldhill 4 Jimmy Etherington Peter Easterby R G Johnson 1:04.08 1966 Roughlyn 5 George Cadwaladr Doug Francis J D Pickering 1:04.20 1967 Be Friendly 3 Scobie Breasley Cyril Mitchell Peter O'Sullevan 1:04.38 1968 D'Urberville 3 Joe Mercer Jeremy Tree Jock Whitney 1:02.12 1969 Song 3 Joe Mercer Derrick Candy Bryan P Jenks 1:03.84 1970 Amber Rama 3 Yves Saint-Martin François Mathet Arpad Plesch 0:59.30 1971 Swing Easy 3 Lester Piggott Jeremy Tree Jock Whitney 1:09.20 1972 Sweet Revenge 5 Geoff Lewis Atty Corbett Mrs B Attenborough 1:01.90 1973 Abergwaun 5 Lester Piggott Vincent O'Brien Charles St George 1:02.70 1974 Bay Express 3 Brian Taylor Peter Nelson P Miller 0:59.91 1975 Flirting Around 4 Yves Saint-Martin Robert Carver A Hausmann 1:00.39 1976 Lochnager 4 Edward Hide Mick Easterby Charles Spence 1:02.30 1977 Godswalk 3 Lester Piggott Vincent O'Brien Robert Sangster 1:02.20 1978 Solinus 3 Lester Piggott Vincent O'Brien Danny Schwartz 1:02.61 1979 Double Form 4 John Reid Fulke Johnson Houghton Baroness H. Thyssen 1:01.03 1980 African Song 3 Pat Eddery Paul Kelleway Geoffrey Kaye 1:02.30 1981 Marwell 3 Walter Swinburn Michael Stoute Sir Edmund Loder 1:00.40 1982 Fearless Lad 3 Edward Hide Dick Peacock G. Soulsby 1:01.40 1983 Sayf El Arab 3 Taffy Thomas Bill O'Gorman Moufid F. Dabaghi 1:00.10 1984 Habibti 4 Willie Carson John Dunlop Mohamed Mutawa 1:01.70 1985 Never So Bold 5 Lester Piggott Robert Armstrong Edward Kessly 1:01.70 1986 Last Tycoon 3 Cash Asmussen Robert Collet Richard C. Strauss 0:59.28 1987 Bluebird 3 Cash Asmussen Vincent O'Brien Robert Sangster 1:05.25 1988 Chilibang 4 Willie Carson John Dunlop Janice Heinz 1:00.61 1989 Indian Ridge 4 Steve Cauthen David Elsworth Anne Coughlan 1:01.36 1990 Dayjur 3 Willie Carson Dick Hern Hamdan Al Maktoum 1:01.96 1991 Elbio 4 Steve Cauthen Peter Makin Brian Brackpool 1:01.40 1992 Sheikh Albadou 4 Walter Swinburn Alex Scott Hilal Salem 1:00.50 1993 Elbio 6 Walter Swinburn Peter Makin Brian Brackpool 1:03.08 1994 Lochsong 6 Frankie Dettori Ian Balding Jeff Smith 1:00.73 1995 Piccolo 4 Richard Hughes Mick Channon John White & Partners 0:59.67 1996 Pivotal 3 George Duffield Sir Mark Prescott Cheveley Park Stud 0:59.49 1997 Don't Worry Me 5 Olivier Peslier Guy Henrot Jean-François Gribomont 1:01.95 1998 Bolshoi 6 Carl Lowther Jack Berry David & Trish Brown 1:01.16 1999 Mitcham 3 Richard Quinn Terry Mills Terry Mills 1:00.58 2000 Nuclear Debate 5 Gérald Mossé John Hammond Bob Chester 1:01.13 2001 Cassandra Go 5 Michael Roberts Geoff Wragg Trevor Stewart 1:00.49 2002 Dominica 3 Martin Dwyer Marcus Tregoning Bobby & Helen Kennard 1:00.89 2003 Choisir 4 Johnny Murtagh Paul Perry Terry Wallace & Partners 0:59.68 2004 The Tatling 7 Darryll Holland Milton Bradley Dab Hand Racing 1:00.16 2005 Chineur 4 Christophe Lemaire Mikel Delzangles Marquesa de Moratalla 0:57.55 2006 Takeover Target 7 Jay Ford Joe Janiak Joe & Ben Janiak 0:59.79 2007 Miss Andretti 6 Craig Newitt Lee Freedman Buckley / Mueller / Guenzi 0:57.44 2008 Equiano 3 Olivier Peslier Mauricio Delcher Sánchez James Acheson 0:59.35 2009 Scenic Blast 5 Steven Arnold Daniel Morton Elio Galante & Partners 0:59.54 2010 Equiano 5 Michael Hills Barry Hills James Acheson 0:59.00 2011 Prohibit 6 Jim CrowleyRobert Cowell Dasmal / Rix / Barr et al. 0:59.50 2012 Little Bridge 6 Zac Purton Danny Shum Ko Kam Piu 0:59.69 2013 Sole Power 6 Johnny Murtagh Edward Lynam Mrs S. Power 0:58.88 2014 Sole Power 7 Richard Hughes Edward Lynam Mrs S. Power 0:58.95 2015 Goldream 6 Martin Harley Robert Cowell J Sargeant & J Morley 0:59.11 2016 Profitable 4 Adam Kirby Clive Cox Alan Spence 1:02.69 2017 Lady Aurelia 3 John Velazquez Wesley Ward Stonestreet Stables, Bolton & Leidel 0:57.45 2018 Blue Point 4 William Buick Charlie Appleby Godolphin 0:58.14 2019 Blue Point 5 James Doyle Charlie Appleby Godolphin 0:58.53 2020 Battaash 6 Jim Crowley Charles Hills Hamdan Al Maktoum 0:58.64 2021 Oxted 5 Cieren Fallon Roger Teal Piper, Hirschfeld, Fish & Collins 0:59.03 2022 Nature Strip 7 James McDonald Chris Waller R A E Lyons, P D Harrison Et Al 0:58.25 2023 Bradsell 3 Hollie Doyle Archie Watson Victorious Racing 1:00.91 2024 Asfoora 5 Oisin Murphy Henry Dwyer Noor Elaine Farm Pty Ltd 0:58.60 2025 American Affair 5 Paul Mulrennan Jim Goldie Barraston Racing & J S Goldie 0:59.64 2026 Mission Central 3 Ryan Moore Aidan O'Brien Tabor / Magnier / Smith / Westerberg / Brant 0:58.72

Earlier winners

1860: Queen of the Vale 1861: Buckstone 1862: Shillelagh 1863: Umpire 1864: Le Bearnais 1865: Saccharometer 1866: Hippia 1867: Cecrops 1868: Xi 1869: Gertrude 1870: King of the Forest 1871: Chopette 1872: Bertram 1873: Prince Charlie 1874: Blenheim 1875: Tangible 1876: Lowlander 1877: Springfield 1878: Lollypop 1879: Hackthorpe 1880: Charibert 1881: Ishmael 1882: Eastern Empress 1883: Prince William 1884: Geheimniss 1885: Glen Albyn 1886: Financier 1887: Crowberry 1888: Noble Chieftain 1889: Formidable 1890: Bumptious 1891: Lady Caroline 1892: Lady Lena 1893: Prince Hampton 1894: Best Man 1895: Woolsthorpe 1896: Wishard 1897: Woolsthorpe 1898: Kilcock 1899: Kilcock

See also Horse racing in Great Britain List of British flat horse races

References

Paris-Turf: , , , , , , , Racing Post: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

External links Race Recordings (1981-2004) youtube.com galopp-sieger.de – King's Stand Stakes. ifhaonline.org – International Federation of Horseracing Authorities – King's Stand Stakes (2019). pedigreequery.com – King's Stand Stakes – Ascot.